Versions of the present invention relate, in general, to a power management system and, in particular, to hardware designed to enhance computer system power management by facilitating communication between and identification of connected components.
As home and business computer networks become larger and more complicated, managing the power connections between power provider devices, such as power distribution unit (“PDU”) devices and uninterruptible power supply (“UPS”) devices, and power consumers, such as servers and computers, may also become increasingly difficult. In particular, managing the multitude of wires in some data centers and server farms may be extremely confusing and tedious. Proper identification of connections between power providers and power consumers may be tedious, time consuming and susceptible to errors. In these situations, accidental power outages may be catastrophic to the equipment involved and/or the data stored thereon. Consequently, it may be beneficial to provide a power management system configured to facilitate accurate identification of power connections between components within a computer system; and to provide communication between computer system components that are connected by power cords.
While several systems, methods, and devices have been made and used for managing power connections, it is believed that no one prior to the inventors has made or used the invention described herein.
The drawings are not intended to be limiting in any way, and it is contemplated that various embodiments of the invention may be carried out in a variety of other ways, including those not necessarily depicted in the drawings. The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown.